Scan barcode
vorsoisson's review against another edition
3.0
This particular story is not my favorite, but the author is clearly and excellent writer. I'm planning on tracking down more of her work.
rick_k's review against another edition
5.0
Set in a mining town in a desert in the old west, You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay brings horror and wonder to the sweet love story of orphans Ellis and Marisol. This could serve as an origin story to Ellis' canonization into one of the American Tall Tales. This atmospheric adventure is written in second-person present-tense, which may have been a stunt but doesn't distract from the beautiful prose.
The story is available for free, here, on Uncanny Magazine's website.
The story is available for free, here, on Uncanny Magazine's website.
chirson's review
4.0
I think I liked it best of all the Alyssa Wong stories I've read so far. It was evocative and imaginative, and reminded me of Pretty Deadly, in a good way. There was some real emotion, although I think I'd have liked for the roots of the magic and its connection to the desert and landscape to be given more detail or explanation.
marpesea's review
5.0
Available here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/youll-surely-drown-stay/
Merged review:
Available here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/youll-surely-drown-stay/
Merged review:
Available here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/youll-surely-drown-stay/
titusfortner's review
2.0
This is a 2017 Hugo Nominee for Best Novelette.
The 2nd person narration made this feel more clunky than it might have otherwise. This story has a lot of potential that is never realized. The world is kind of interesting, but I don't emotionally attach to any of the characters and not enough time is spent fleshing out motivations and the dynamics of the interaction.
The 2nd person narration made this feel more clunky than it might have otherwise. This story has a lot of potential that is never realized. The world is kind of interesting, but I don't emotionally attach to any of the characters and not enough time is spent fleshing out motivations and the dynamics of the interaction.
erichart's review
5.0
A Hugo-nominated story ("You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay", by Alyssa Wong), and the others are just as good. A top issue of one of the best SF / Fantasy magazines out there.
lonecayt's review
4.0
Interesting characters, interesting setting. I really like the southwestern theme.
bookaneer's review
4.0
Alyssa Wong is the one to watch. She has a unique style in her storytelling. She knows how to hook readers from the first page and throw them headlong into a whirlwind of crazy movements of magic and fascinating characters. This tale of desert magic in the Wild West just won the Locus Award for Best Novelette. Go check it out.
suncani's review
4.0
A really great all round issue. I might be slightly biased in saying so though as some of my favourite writers were all in this issue.
The standouts for me were Kat Howard's "The Sound of Sea and Salt" and "You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay" by Alyssa Wong.
Both were quirky stories which were solidly written. As always Howard does a brilliant job of evoking fairy tales and myths while still retaining some contemporary elements. You'll Surely Drown here made me actually like a Western set story as well.
"The Blood that Pulses in the Veins of One" by JY Yang is a strange one. The writing is brilliant, but the story itself is so strange, that I don't know that I like it particularly, I would definitely recommend it though as it does make you think, if only to go, why?
I liked Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands by Seanan McGuire and for someone who sometimes is left a bit cold by McGuire's writing, I think that speaks to the strength of the idea at the heart of this short.
The essay section however is a bit more split. Two I loved, the other two were on a subject I didn't have much interest in. Having never seen Labyrinth, the two essays on the Goblin King went over my head a bit, but have made me a bit more curious about the film. Foz Meadows continues the discussion currently being held about diversity and how it doesn't just mean more white women as well as highlighting the tension that usually exists when we're presented with two alternative models of "female" in media. Tanya DePass looks for spaces for gamers who don't fit the traditional stereotype to talk and relate and exist in a community that doesn't question their right to be there.
The standouts for me were Kat Howard's "The Sound of Sea and Salt" and "You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay" by Alyssa Wong.
Both were quirky stories which were solidly written. As always Howard does a brilliant job of evoking fairy tales and myths while still retaining some contemporary elements. You'll Surely Drown here made me actually like a Western set story as well.
"The Blood that Pulses in the Veins of One" by JY Yang is a strange one. The writing is brilliant, but the story itself is so strange, that I don't know that I like it particularly, I would definitely recommend it though as it does make you think, if only to go, why?
I liked Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands by Seanan McGuire and for someone who sometimes is left a bit cold by McGuire's writing, I think that speaks to the strength of the idea at the heart of this short.
The essay section however is a bit more split. Two I loved, the other two were on a subject I didn't have much interest in. Having never seen Labyrinth, the two essays on the Goblin King went over my head a bit, but have made me a bit more curious about the film. Foz Meadows continues the discussion currently being held about diversity and how it doesn't just mean more white women as well as highlighting the tension that usually exists when we're presented with two alternative models of "female" in media. Tanya DePass looks for spaces for gamers who don't fit the traditional stereotype to talk and relate and exist in a community that doesn't question their right to be there.
alexanderpaez's review
4.0
Un western extrañísimo, con una atmósfera oscura y repleta de magia. Me ha recordado a textos de Tim Pratt.